Even if This World Becomes a Mess, the Police Still Work(3)

I took a taxi and headed to the research institute building as quickly as possible. Even while hurriedly going to the scene by taxi, I didn’t hang up the phone and checked on Yuna-ri’s situation.

She seemed to be hiding somewhere. And she wasn’t making any sound.

After the long sound of things being broken, footsteps and cursing could still be heard, indicating that the guys chasing Yuna-ri weren’t leaving persistently.

The conversation sounds were too faint to make out the content, but the important thing was that the guys knew Yuna-ri was in the research institute building and weren’t leaving during the time I was advancing by car.

I could tell exactly who the intruders were targeting.

Fortunately, Yuna-ri seemed to know she was in a dangerous situation without any explanation and remained well-hidden without making any sound.

Still, seeing them continuing to search without leaving for about 20 minutes while I was in the taxi, she would inevitably be found eventually.

I urged the innocent taxi driver to go as fast as possible, but – there was one question.

Yuna-ri said she was at the National Forensic Service, but no matter how crazy they are, does it make sense for police to openly rush to kill one person at this hour?

Society is a mess right now. To the extent that even catching this taxi is a miracle. There are no cars circulating outside and buses are hardly moving.

The government is hesitating whether to declare martial law or not with the situation of supervillains all escaping and rampaging, while at the same time fighting over whose fault it is instead of trying to properly solve anything.

So they say even the police aren’t functioning properly now, but they brazenly break into the research institute to try to kill someone?

No matter how much of a mess this is, it doesn’t make sense. Are they not thinking about the consequences at all?

I was dumbfounded, unable to understand what kind of rolling trash these guys moving were.

Even if their backing is that big, the only one who could handle killing someone at the National Scientific Research Institute is – only Sai.

But if so, it leads to the question of why Sai is trying to kill Yuna-ri now, but there’s nothing I can know for sure at the moment.

“- We’ve arrived. Um, you seem to be a police officer. Is this really okay…?”

As I was continuing my thoughts, the taxi had already arrived at the destination. The elderly man looked at me with anxiety.

I had to urgently catch a taxi so I said I was police and asked for help, but he didn’t seem to want to take me either.

I could feel how society had become so anxious in just two days while I was unconscious.

This elderly man must want to feel some comfort hearing the word police, even though I’m a complete stranger.

I didn’t know what to say to that.

The series of events of Sai revealing her identity and society collapsing was described slowly in the novel, like dominoes falling.

Sai directly destroying the prison where supervillains were held, sabotaging the nation to prevent proper judgment and response.

She created a testing ground for the hero New Hope to be tested while pouring oil on and spreading hatred and loathing between people.

It wasn’t like everything suddenly exploded and was completely shattered like now.

I had been thinking that the knowledge from the original work was only half-useful recently, and wouldn’t be helpful except for personal information and dangerous supervillain abilities.

But now I can’t grasp the reason for the Great Chaos event, which could be called the biggest event in the novel’s plot development.

I can’t figure out what Sai’s purpose is. Venting anger for being rejected by me? Or something else? I don’t know if she’s targeting Mina, or targeting me.

So even if I try to accept this situation, it feels like a vile nightmare, and I don’t know what to say.

But damn it. Even in this situation, isn’t there one thing to say as a police officer to the elderly driver who came out to feed his family?

“It’ll be alright. Everyone is working hard so everything will be fine soon. But it’s dangerous these days, so go home early.”

“Yes. Yes.”

The family photo hanging on the front seat of the taxi flickered in my eyes, but I quickly shook it off and looked ahead.

Looking at the sky, thick snowflakes start falling from the sky. And the research institute building, which has never had all its lights off even late at night, was noisy even in this cold.

I was worried that maybe Yuna-ri’s hacking was caught and they were moving with a formal arrest warrant at least on the surface, but thankfully it didn’t seem to be the case.

Then, are they trying to kill someone by breaking into the research institute without a warrant now? Police officers? It wouldn’t be strange for the research institute to take some measures, but the institute was strangely quiet.

Well, the situation could be called semi-wartime, so they might be busy moving internal data to a safe place or internal personnel might be dispatched somewhere.

Even so, I can’t understand at all what kind of shitty situation this is… Checking my phone, Yuna-ri was still quiet, probably well-hidden.

For now, I’ll have to go in and check what’s happening inside.

The state of the country is like this these days, so nothing would be strange, but. I lightly stretched my neck and went inside.

…..

…

..

.

“But what the hell are you guys really?”

I thought nothing would be strange, but I can’t understand what this is.

Inferring the situation from the fact that I heard the voice of a man I remember as belonging to Special Investigation Team 2 over Yuna-ri’s call for rescue.

I judged that Yuna-ri was caught and targeted by those guys while digging into Special Investigation Team 2 as I asked.

Police directly moving to kill one person and coming to the research institute – honestly, I don’t understand.

I had judged that there must be a strategy I didn’t know since Yagi, or more precisely Sai controlling Yagi, was there.

But I realized my thoughts were wrong the moment I saw a woman collapsed and bleeding as soon as I entered the research institute entrance.

Wounds from tools rather than guns or such. Fortunately not dead, but the situation clearly shows they just barged in recklessly.

Entering the building, resident security personnel and researchers, even people who looked like they were in the same profession, were all beaten up and lying face down.

To think a scene you’d only see when entering as a latecomer to clean up a club taken over by gangsters would unfold at the National Forensic Service research institute.

I wonder what the hell Yagi, no, this crazy Sai is thinking.

But thinking calmly for a moment, I realized that Special Investigation Team 2 did this, and if the fact that they did such a crazy thing becomes known outside, the Special Investigation Team would be shattered right away.

With Sai’s goal unclear now, if she’s trying to do something, the only thing that could be called an obstacle besides New Hope would be the Special Investigation Team.

No, in the first place, people belonging to the Special Investigation Team are elites even among police, and those who have been in the field dealing with superpower users and survived are even more outstanding.

Although Sai is a monster beyond standard, she’s literally short on manpower to do everything alone. And she’ll use those of lower quality to fill that manpower, but.

Wouldn’t public power with large numbers be annoying even if individually weak?

If I were trying to do something using superpower users, I would start by somehow neutralizing the Special Investigation Team first.

And then isolate New Hope and slowly strangle her to death. I had my suspicions seeing Mina’s condition, but now I could be certain.

Sai intends to kill Mina. Not something like putting her to the test, but harboring clear killing intent and planning to slowly and surely strangle her to death according to plan.

Since Sai kills even one person within a thorough plan, her purpose was clear.

In the original work, she only went as far as causing conflict between New Hope, that is Mina, and the Special Investigation Team, but if she intends to kill, there’s no reason to do such troublesome things.

It would be easier to just completely shatter citizens’ trust in government agencies and deal with the isolated New Hope.

Isn’t this situation also part of that plan?

“Oh fuck.”

At first I was just going to secretly get Yuna-ri out and make her escape no matter what happened. But the situation has changed.

It’s absolutely impossible to cover this up. If I try to somehow clean this up – at least I have to handle it.

I really hate it, but. I really fucking hate it!

To clean up this situation, if I don’t arrest these guys and do some media play as the detective with the frame of being incorruptible among people, this situation won’t be resolved.

No, no matter how idiotic the higher-ups are, they should know how fucked up it will be if this is left alone, so they’ll have no choice but to move as I think… right?

…Fuck! Why are they making a science person do an arts person’s job! This isn’t something I should do!

Though my teeth were clenched, I confirmed the call was still connected. And I said to her who was waiting for me while holding her breath:

“I’ve arrived. At the research institute. The call will be cut off for a moment, but, well, it’ll be so noisy you’ll know I really came.”

“The reason I’m hanging up briefly is because these crazy bastards are doing crazy shit so I have to call the police, so don’t worry.”

“[……]”

“So – oh fuck.”

As I was continuing to speak, I suddenly felt my throat tighten. I felt like I might cry at how pathetic my situation was.

Just when I thought I had finally escaped from the Special Investigation Team, Sai appeared with her memories lost.

I thought things might go well with Sai in a state of lost memories, but it ended up like this.

And the shittiest thing was that I didn’t feel fear or powerlessness while society was going crazy like this.

Sai is scary. Wouldn’t anyone be scared of such a crazy bitch beyond comprehension?

Even if society has become like this, I just think it’s become this way because it deserved to.

When I first went to the Violent Crimes Unit after becoming a police officer, I saw my senior taking money from gangsters and letting suspects go, so I knew this fucking country would become like this someday.

The whole country has gone crazy because we couldn’t stop criminals? I admit it. We failed as police.

But honestly, I want to ask back what the hell am I supposed to do.

What the fuck am I supposed to do about someone that even the military can’t stop properly setting out to destroy everything?

Probably only Mina can stop Sai. But not right now. So – until that time comes, adults will have to do something somehow.

Even thinking that, honestly what’s scary is scary.

I’ve been trying not to say this as much as possible until now. If I had a strong body, I should have become an athlete instead of a police officer.

Swallowing such true feelings, I continued speaking.

“I’m coming now.”

I hung up the call, finished requesting support by contacting the police, and then moved forward.

And not long after, I saw two men in leather jackets holding blood-stained iron pipes. On the floor were people in white gowns collapsed and groaning.

I examined the faces of the guys who had obviously taken down those people.

Faces with large scars on the nose and forehead. Those faces. I remember them except for the scars. Guys who liked beating people up despite being police and got disciplined and flew off somewhere.

To think such guys entered the Special Investigation Team. It’s really surprising.

By the way, I’m saying this as a reference, but I’m the one who sent those bastards flying.

“Lee Munsu. Wow, you’re looking good. Is it because people these days all call you the righteous detective sir?”

“Yeah. It was really fucking annoying how some worthless bastard acted like he was something.”

Murderous intent flickers in their eyes, as if they’ve had a hard time wherever they flew off to.

These bastards, are they forgetting what they did and acting like this?

Are these the eyes of bastards who made an innocent person a suspect in a case involving people taking bribes, and kicked out and chased away that person’s family when they came begging for a proper investigation?

I pondered for a moment if I had done something wrong seeing their overly confident looks, but since I felt I hadn’t done anything wrong after all.

I blatantly raised my middle finger at them and said:

“You fucking idiots sure have stiff necks.”

At my words, they immediately twisted their faces fiercely and rushed at me, but I swung my fist and knocked them down, hitting their foreheads and bridges of their noses.

I vaguely remember beating these two guys in the same way when they rushed at me like this before.

Then, did I create the scars on their foreheads and noses? I had such idle thoughts as I took away the tools the guys with their whites showing were holding, and went upstairs.

The research lab where Yuna-ri and the doctor are was definitely on the second floor. So I headed there first, but-

Of course things won’t go smoothly.

“- Why is this bastard here?”

“Oh fuck.”

About 15 people. As soon as I reached the second floor, I saw familiar faces fiercely examining the building while holding tools.

They all recognized me and exuded murderous intent. I let out a bitter laugh and gripped the iron pipe tightly.

In this situation where even some ribs are broken, I should think it’s a bit dangerous, but since the last thing I saw was a monster like Sai, it’s not very scary.

Is this shock therapy where a greater fear makes you forget fear? I smiled and rushed forward.